The invention relates to a garment worn by the user for clothing protection and to transport and entertain small animals (gerbils, mice, snakes, tarantula, spiders, lizards, etc.). More specifically, this garment relates to a short, very colorful shoulder cover garment that is used to protect the clothing of the user and to display, shelter and observe the animal while providing entertainment and protection of the animal.
Individuals who have small animals (gerbils, mice, snakes, tarantulas, spiders, lizards, etc.) often relate to them closely and like to show them off and play with them out of their cages, often going so far as to put them in a pocket or bag for their protection. Around the shoulders is a natural place for these animals to climb onto for safety from larger animals and to get away from quick hand and body movements from people that scare the animals. Small animals also are attracted to bright colours due to their curious nature. When they are out of their cage, they like to crawl into covered places like tunnels to hide and rest. Often they climb inside a person's clothes, and sometimes fearfully bite or accidentally claw a person trying to put them back in their cage. Another problem arises when the animal relives itself, which is quite often if the animal is afraid or uncomfortable. The droppings of small animals are not excessively large and generally dry quickly without much noticeable odor, but it may stain or discolour clothing. It is not uncommon for a person to have to change clothing after handling small animals.
A number of shoulder drapes with perches for birds have been developed, most inclined to locate over ones shoulder with some form of waist collecting receptacle. Although these have been suitable for birds, they have no tunnelling effect for small animals such as gerbils, mice, lizards, tarantulas, etc., that need to be more sheltered and confined, both for the safety of the animal and its comfort as it is being transported. There are several devices for mazes and tunnels available to transport small animals and to provide tunnels and mazes: however, they are not made of flexible material, nor do they fit around the shoulders of the owner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,427 of Hoover describes insertable stacking components which are transparent to view the animal and the configuration of the maze pieces can be changed for more entertainment of the animal. They are made of transparent, colored, molded plastic and are meant to be in an enclosure such as a cage: therefore they are not suitable for safe enclosure of the animal while it is being transported and the animal can't be placed on the owners body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,713of Hansen makes available a kit for making your own maze, but the invention is designed for school project uses and is too cumbersome to be portable when completed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,745 of Spires describes a pet travelling kit that resembles a folding garment bag. It provides a cushion for the pet and pockets for storing items the pet may need: however, it is designed for a cat or dog and would not be suitable for the smaller animals such as gerbils, mice, lizards, snakes, etc., because it is too big and it would be hard to find such a small animal to remove or check on during travel without the possibility of the animal slipping away.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,125 of Rotramel describes an animal harborage which is made primarily as a pest trap in which you can inject insecticides. Although it would be a suitable container for insects because it has artificial webs and is made of solid porous materials, it is designed as a cage in which the insects could hide, thus it would limit the best observation of the insect or rodent, and would not allow the close feeling an owner gets when the pet is placed on the shoulder.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,126 of Schellenbach describes a shoulder draped bird perch which transports birds on both shoulders of the owner and allows for adjustable fasteners, weighting of the material, attachment of toys and adjustable sizes. While it is quite adequate for all sizes of birds who are trained to stay on an owners shoulder, it does not have any tunnels for small animals which need to be confined while being observed, displayed, trained and transported.
There is such a pressing need in the field of garment design for new shoulder worn devices to provide a secure environment for owners to display, entertain and transport their small animals. This garment has been designed with unique features to show off, entertain, observe, and transport small animals along with protecting the wearer's clothing from being soiled by animal droppings.